David McIntosh began the development of streets of houses on his land in about 1861, when a demand for workers’ houses was created by the docks and factories of Canning Town and Poplar.
Athol Street Bus Garage opened in July 1907 for horse drawn buses, closed in 1961 and was demolished soon after. It was famous for operating the Tunnel STLs from 1939 to 1954. It was built for use on routes 108 through the Blackwall Tunnel and 82 through the Rotherhithe Tunnel. The buses had specially curved roofs and reinforced tyres to prevent damage from rubbing along kerbs in the narrow tunnels.
Athol Street was replaced by Athol Square.
